Mindfulness for OCD

You often hear me talk about using exposure and response prevention for OCD treatment. But, what about mindfulness? Is it just as effective? Does it do more harm? Let’s go through how to use mindfulness for your OCD and figure out if it’s something worth doing in your treatment.

Quickly, Mindfulness is like having a special power already inside you, but sometimes it's tricky to tap into. Basically, it's about being totally in the moment and aware. So, when you're being mindful, you're kind of stepping back and watching your thoughts rather than letting them control you.
It's not just about your thoughts though. You can also focus on your breath and how your body feels. This helps your mind chill out and deal with whatever's going on around you. It's especially helpful for people dealing with OCD because it gives them a way to handle their thoughts without letting them take over.

In a study from 2013, researchers looked at how mindfulness and distraction techniques affected 30 people with OCD. They found that those who practiced mindfulness were less likely to give in to their compulsions, unlike those who used distraction.
Dealing with OCD can make mindfulness tough. It means facing intrusive thoughts and feelings head-on. Instead of trying to push them away with compulsions, mindfulness asks you to let them be there.
This is kind of like exposure therapy, where you face your triggers and resist the urge to do compulsions. With mindfulness, you're aware of those thoughts, accept any discomfort they bring, and resist acting on them.
Both practices are about taking a step back from your first reactions and gaining control over your compulsions. Mindfulness helps calm your mind and gives you space to deal with your OCD without letting it control you.

How to use mindfulness for OCD Treatment

Here are different ways to use mindfulness within your OCD:

When people think of mindfulness or meditation, they often picture sitting quietly. In this practice, you find a calm spot, close your eyes or keep them slightly open, and simply pay attention to what's happening around you. It's a straightforward way to start, great for beginners, but dealing with distractions can be a challenge at first. Starting with short sessions can help build your ability to stay focused on the present moment. Feel all the feelings. Don’t make sense of them or try to control them.
Another way to practice mindfulness is through walking meditation, which fits easily into your daily routine. With this method, you pay close attention to how your body feels as you walk, noticing the rhythm of your movements and any sensations you experience. This active form of mindfulness can be particularly helpful for those with OCD who struggle with body awareness or restlessness.

There is also the 3-minute breathing technique:
It is a short mindfulness meditation for OCD that helps break away from a cycle of symptoms. In just three minutes, you focus on these steps:
Pay attention to what's happening right now.
Concentrate on your breathing. Some breathe in until they can’t do it anymore, then they breathe out. Some focus on blowing out candles with their fingers.
Notice how your body feels. It’s not good or bad.
This exercise helps interrupt OCD symptoms when they're getting intense. By focusing on your body, you can switch from automatic reactions to being more present. With practice, you might notice patterns in your symptoms and find new ways to deal with them.
Something that I actually love quite a lot is finding a meditation video online and listen to it. Get into a dark room. I remember doing this in college in one of my classes, we all lied on the ground and spent almost an hour going through a guided meditation from noticing our toes, to our heart, to the follicles of our hair. It was very relaxing.

Using your five senses in mindfulness is a great way to anchor yourself in the present moment and cultivate awareness. Everything that is noticed is done without judgement. We can even describe what we see, hear, or touch without adding our own thoughts to it. Here's how you can engage each sense:
Sight:
Find a quiet spot and observe your surroundings. Notice the colors, shapes, and textures of objects around you.
Look closely at something in nature, like a flower or a tree. Notice the intricate details and patterns.
Hearing:
Close your eyes and listen to the sounds around you. Focus on both distant and nearby noises without judging them.
Pay attention to the rhythm of your breath or the sound of your footsteps as you walk.
Touch:
Take a moment to feel the sensation of your feet on the ground or your body in a chair. Notice the pressure, texture, and temperature.
Run your fingers over different surfaces, like a rough stone or a smooth piece of fabric. Pay attention to how each feels against your skin.
Taste:
Engage in mindful eating by savoring each bite of food. Notice the flavors, textures, and sensations as you chew slowly.
Take a sip of your favorite beverage and focus on the taste as it fills your mouth. Notice any subtle flavors or sensations.
Smell:
Bring your attention to different scents in your environment, whether it's the aroma of fresh flowers, the scent of rain, or the fragrance of a candle.
Practice mindful breathing by inhaling deeply through your nose and noticing the various smells in the air around you.
Now that we just talked about mindfulness, let me show you some downfalls and some reasons why it might not be right for you. Some finish their mindfulness and automatically check. “Did it work?” Are my feelings different? Am I still anxious? This isn’t the reason to do mindfulness. We want to teach the body that you’re living in the present moment. The fears in the future or past don’t belong here.

Some do it as a way to distract from thoughts and feelings. We don’t want to do that either. We want to feel all the feelings. Notice all the sensations. Be with it all. If you think, I’m feeling anxious, I better do my breathing exercises. You’re going down the wrong road. It could be that you choose to do this because you enjoy it. Not because it’s something you HAVE to do.

Overall, mindfulness can be helpful within OCD treatment, in conjunction with exposure and response prevention. Mindfulness alone will not likely help you recover. If you’re not sure how to do these life changing exposures for recovery, I teach all of this step by step and with worksheets in my online master your OCD course. I’ll link this down below.

So what do you think? Have you tried mindfulness before? Has it helped? Let me know in the comments below. Also, to enhance your skills even further, go watch this video here.